Sugar. So good but so wrong. The past 30 years we have seen the obesity rate rise to 600 million people here in America and 347 million people with diabetes. Wow. A really great documentary on Netflix called, “Sugar Coated” (2015), disclosed sugar’s evils and exposed the food and health industry’s role to have us eat it.
Dr. Robert Lustig is a big advocate for sugar change, and as a result may not be so popular among his medical colleagues. The problem is that one cannot definitively say that is sugar that is causing obesity or all the diseases. The evidence is ambiguous. Lusting is up front and blunt about the subject. Sugar makes people happy so to talk poorly of it can upset some, especially those who love it. Sugar means affection to some and it’s given to kids. Imagine a 1-year old’s birthday party with no cake. So when Dr. Lusting says sugar is toxic, which he does in his book, Fat Chance, not everyone wants to agree. He goes so far as to say children should be “carded” for Coke, meaning mom and dad have to buy it if they want it.
But sugar consumption has increased by 46% in the last 30 years, so someone has to say something. What does this mean?? It’s the food we are eating now. Food is making us sick. 74% of packaged foods have added sugar. There are 56 different names for sugar so it’s easy to hide this in the ingredients on the nutrition panel. Some of those are agave, malt, and cane. They said everything in moderation is okay. Well if the guidelines say 6-9 teaspoons and the average American consumes 19.5 teaspoons per day, obviously sugar is being consumed in excess. This causes the liver and pancreas to work extra hard. Sugar is composed of glucose and fructose. The body metabolizes glucose all over, but only the liver and pancreas can process fructose, which is what people are having in excess. The liver and pancreas are so overwhelmed that they convert the extra to fat.
The 1960s introduced the concept of dieting. Women soon fell in love with Diet Coke. The sugar was replaced with chemicals so one advertisement went so far as to say that a Diet Coke has as much sugar as eating half a grapefruit. The argument is that it’s all about calories in versus calories out, regardless of what you are eating.
Sugar is a cheap ingredient and it takes good. Once you have it, your palate craves more. It’s a conflict of interest for sure. The food and health industries make money when waistlines are on the rise. Food has lost its true purpose of nourishment. On your fitness journey, sugar is a “sometimes” food, but again know yourself and what you can tolerate to keep sustainable lifestyle choices. Moments of sugar weakness can come and go so keep those goals a priority when it comes to what you put in your mouth.
Sugar Coated (2015) by Michele Hozer
